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Help me build a backstop

hickslawns

hickslawns

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Alright fellas! I closed on a property today. Not necessarily my first order of business on the property, but I would like to have this done by the summer. I want to build a nice little range to shoot. Doesn't have to be overly elaborate, but I want it to be safe. I have access to equipment. I think I own just about anything I should need to build it. I have access to plenty of dirt. I have an idea in mind. Just curious if anyone has a better idea.

My thoughts: Railroad ties stacked up approximately 8' tall. Add on a couple of additional ties coming out from the main back stop on an angle in both directions. Pile the crap out of a bunch of dirt behind it. My property is 1850' off the road to the rear. Where i want to place this is roughly half way back. From the shooting range onto the rear of the property is all woods. Should be able to get 100-150 yard range built with 800-1000' of woods behind it and a decent backstop. Seem safe enough? I am sure it is safer than some of the stuff I have heard of in the past from others, but I just don't want to chance anything.
 
xbowguy

xbowguy

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Never Built one as ours in a natural. First thought is to go a little over-board as to never mess with it again. Good to see you thinking though, many would just go out there and shoot.
 
Beentown

Beentown

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If you have the ties they work just fine. I was going to recommend old tires stacked and then covered with dirt.
 
hickslawns

hickslawns

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Beentown said:
If you have the ties they work just fine. I was going to recommend old tires stacked and then covered with dirt.
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Great idea. I have access to some of these as well. Maybe a combination. This is why I posted it prior to doing any work. Still have some time. Keep the ideas coming fellas. I don't have my heart set on any one idea yet. RR ties are good. They are a pain to work with though. Eat up chain saw chains. If you are scewing through them to anchor together, they really work a drill and eat up bits as well. Not ideal in my opinion if you are looking for "easy". Functional though and last a good while.
 
Buckmaster

Buckmaster

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Beentown said:
If you have the ties they work just fine. I was going to recommend old tires stacked and then covered with dirt.
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I wish you were my neighbor Phil. With my 1,300 foot setback on my future homestead my neighbor shoots right into my front yard from his backyard on an every weekend basis. I wish I had his ammo money. I filed a report with the Sheriff's office recently after my personal requests to my neighbor went unanswered. The sheriff paid a visit to him recently. The sheriff reports by Ohio law he doesn't need a backstop so there is nothing law enforcement can do until they shoot me or one of my kids. My personal war continues.......

....Use big tractor tires if you can find some. They should last along time.
 
hickslawns

hickslawns

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Buckmaster said:
I wish you were my neighbor Phil. With my 1,300 foot setback on my future homestead my neighbor shoots right into my front yard from his backyard on an every weekend basis. I wish I had his ammo money. I filed a report with the Sheriff's office recently after my personal requests to my neighbor went unanswered. The sheriff paid a visit to him recently. The sheriff reports by Ohio law he doesn't need a backstop so there is nothing law enforcement can do until they shoot me or one of my kids. My personal war continues.......

....Use big tractor tires if you can find some. They should last along time.
Click to expand...

Holy crap! That is NOT cool!


LOL! In this flat ass area Phil is likely to take out Me, Gern, or 57!!
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Very true Drake! We also have Tree Monkey not too far from me. Probably no farther away than you. Closer than Gern. Flat is right. Reminds me of my first girlfriend when I walk across my property. Flat flat flat. lmao
 
Jackalope

Jackalope

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Buckmaster said:
I wish you were my neighbor Phil. With my 1,300 foot setback on my future homestead my neighbor shoots right into my front yard from his backyard on an every weekend basis. I wish I had his ammo money. I filed a report with the Sheriff's office recently after my personal requests to my neighbor went unanswered. The sheriff paid a visit to him recently. The sheriff reports by Ohio law he doesn't need a backstop so there is nothing law enforcement can do until they shoot me or one of my kids. My personal war continues.......

....Use big tractor tires if you can find some. They should last along time.
Click to expand...

Find where the rounds are skipping across your yard.. Put up a couple sheets of 4x8 plywood and paint them... When he knocks a hole in one sue his ass. Time+Materials+labor= ohhhh I would say that probably comes out to an even $3,000.. The max for small claims court in Ohio. Once the judge hears the story I guarantee he will agree and find in your favor..
 
Beentown

Beentown

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IMHO for ease of construction and cost it is hard to beat tires. Ties are great but they cost more and are harder to secure. Tires are frowned upon now because of the "eco" friendly types. The other cheap route is to get some broken up concrete chunks from road construction companies and use it as a base. Then use clean fill dirt for the front.

It is recommended that it has a height of twenty feet at a 1:1 slope (soil type dependent), with a 4 foot-wide flat top. Since you have the equipment this isn't too hard for you. Those NRA recommendations are for a 300 yard range. For you, you can definitely shrink this down.
 
Beentown

Beentown

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Jackalope said:
Find where the rounds are skipping across your yard.. Put up a couple sheets of 4x8 plywood and paint them... When he knocks a hole in one sue his ass. Time+Materials+labor= ohhhh I would say that probably comes out to an even $3,000.. The max for small claims court in Ohio. Once the judge hears the story I guarantee he will agree and find in your favor..
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:smiley_clap: Great idea.
 
xbowguy

xbowguy

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Buckmaster said:
I wish you were my neighbor Phil. With my 1,300 foot setback on my future homestead my neighbor shoots right into my front yard from his backyard on an every weekend basis. I wish I had his ammo money. I filed a report with the Sheriff's office recently after my personal requests to my neighbor went unanswered. The sheriff paid a visit to him recently. The sheriff reports by Ohio law he doesn't need a backstop so there is nothing law enforcement can do until they shoot me or one of my kids. My personal war continues.......

....Use big tractor tires if you can find some. They should last along time.
Click to expand...

You may want to check further into this..... Diane's neighbor called the Sheriff on us for shooting. He came out and looked at the target's and said "I see you have the required backstop, so she has no complaint" Not saying yea or nay on this but this Sheriff made it sound like you needed a "Required Backstop" Slim but possible that particular sheriff or another one knows your neighbor personally ? Hope I am wrong, but this just sounds so unsafe to be brushed under the rug......... Good Luck With It !
 
Beentown

Beentown

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Yoj are not required to have a backstop. You are just accountable for every boolit that leaves the gun. My neighbor was shooting behind my place, the other neighbor called the law on him and they said the same. She called and looked into it and it is true.
 
Milo

Milo

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Buckmaster said:
I wish you were my neighbor Phil. With my 1,300 foot setback on my future homestead my neighbor shoots right into my front yard from his backyard on an every weekend basis. I wish I had his ammo money. I filed a report with the Sheriff's office recently after my personal requests to my neighbor went unanswered. The sheriff paid a visit to him recently. The sheriff reports by Ohio law he doesn't need a backstop so there is nothing law enforcement can do until they shoot me or one of my kids. My personal war continues.......

....Use big tractor tires if you can find some. They should last along time.
Click to expand...
if you find his lead bullets on your property you can sue him for lead pollution I am betting. the clean up will be expensive as heck
 
Ohiosam

Ohiosam

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Phil,
However you build your backstop for best results when using it keep your targets close to the back stop. By this I mean don't stand at the 100 yard line and shoot at a 25 yd target that is 75 yards from the back stop. The closer the target is to the backstop the less chance of a bullet going over the backstop. It can be a pain moving but it's better then having a bullet get away from you.
 
hickslawns

hickslawns

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Tree Monkey got me a line on some RR ties! Probably 30-40min drive to get them, but they look like they will be free and there will be plenty of them! Time to load up the gooseneck trailer and start stacking as soon as I get caught up on work!
 
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